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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from iStockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.26 - Lucky Girl

I woke up Friday morning with one of the most satisfied feelings I had ever experienced coursing through my veins! Getting up on stage and performing yesterday left me with a fire burning in my body. That fire was the power that kept me returning again and again to sing in front of a crowd.

But if the rush was the fire, interacting with the fans at the CD signing was the fuel. I had never had an experience like that in my life! Two hours and forty-five minutes of fan after fan excited for the short chance to meet me.

And I got to meet them. I'd seen the numbers, I'd heard the news, but I had never fully understood my popularity until last night. Young and old, male and female, it didn't matter. There were fans from almost every walk of life represented by the many people whom I met yesterday. I felt honored to have that privilege, and I knew that it was something I needed to cherish.

As I got ready for the day, that feeling continued to stir around inside me. Eventually, that feeling started to mesh into a tune. Then the tune started to morph into a song. I was proud of the way that I had overcome my fears to get up on stage that first time at Johnny's house. I was proud of my ability to walk out on the stage in Salt Lake City and perform a concert without any prior experience. But I was also proud of the way that Paul had taken a step forward and come to the CD signing.

If ever there was a person who was scared to live life, it was Paul. I didn't know why he was so shy and so timid. I couldn't understand why he had chosen that moment to take a step outside of his shell. All I knew was that moment, along with the feeling I had at conquering my own fears, needed to flow out of my head.

I stepped into Sarah's room and grabbed my guitar case and the notebook I wrote my songs in. Sitting down on the couch, I did the only thing I could with those feelings and thoughts. I poured them onto paper. The song in my head had a really nice, upbeat sound that I couldn't fully write by myself. But I put down what I could and I knew that the band would help me put the rest down later.

Mom interrupted me just as I finished the song, and I smiled at her as she entered.

"How are you doing?" she asked while stepping into the room.

"Great!" I replied while setting my guitar back in its case. "I just wrote another song! Did you know that Paul came to the CD signing?"

"Paul Johnson?" Mom asked astonished. I nodded and smiled. Paul had been over to our house many times when we were lab partners, but he hadn't come by since I became Megan. "Why was he there?"

"I don't know!" I said. "He was the last person I expected to see, and I nearly frightened him away when I gasped his name."

Mom smiled. She knew just how timid and shy Paul was. She seemed to share some of my wonder at his unexpected appearance.

"I think I'm going to take him some tickets to the OC Fair," I continued. "I think he'd like to come, and I'd like to see him there. If he's sitting with you guys, then he'll be okay too."

Mom nodded. "I think that he'd like that. I always did like him. You could do worse, you know."

I blushed immediately. Paul was a friend, and I'd never thought of him as anything else! I didn't know why Mom would jump to that type of conclusion!

"Mom!" I finally found my voice. "He's just a friend!"

She smiled back at me. Then I realized that she likely had made the statement to see how I would react. I had proven that I was interested in boys that first night I had gone out with Josh. We'd discussed that pretty heavily afterward. She probably wondered if I was finally moving past the boy whom I had a crush on.

I sighed. I was supposed to go to dinner with Josh tonight, but I knew that he didn't want to have that type of relationship with Sarah. At the concert he was really interested in me as Megan, but he hadn't even tried to contact her during his stay in Los Angeles. Perhaps he no longer had any feelings for me whatsoever.

That was a depressing thought.

"Megan," Mom said and wrapped me in her arms after seeing my reaction. "You've never really had a crush on anyone before. Josh is your first. The first one is always the worst when you finally move on. Josh is a good kid, but getting involved with him would be...complicated."

"I know, Mom," I said, trying to hold back the tears that had already begun to spill out. I knew that Josh had probably moved on - I just hadn't accepted that thought. Having her point it out was not what I wanted her to do. "Maybe I should just cancel dinner."

"I wouldn't do that, Honey," she said. "I know it will be tough to see him, but it will teach you how to deal with the situation, and I'm sure your father will be upset with the ramifications it might have on your career."

Her words made sense, but they didn't make me feel any better. I knew that I had to go to dinner to help support the idea that we would be working together. We had already agreed to sing duet at one of his concerts, and Dad had already been talking about having him show up at one of mine. Shunning Josh for the way he was making me feel could seriously diminish our ability to work together. I smiled wanly at her and nodded.

"Come have a light snack," Mom said to me. "It's already two and I don't think you even ate breakfast." My stomach growled to prove her point. "Besides, your dad has something he wants to tell you. He's been excited all morning, but he didn't want to interrupt the song."

That got my attention, and my tears started to dry up. I nodded again and reached down to close the guitar case before I stood up and followed Mom out to the kitchen.

Dad was sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich when we arrived, and I noticed that there were two more plates waiting for us. I sat down next to them and took a bite of my sandwich.

"Hi, Princess," Dad said to me with an excited smile on his face. "Did you finish the song?"

I finished chewing before I responded. "As much as I can alone. I want to get together with the band and finish it so we can use it on the tour."

Dad nodded. "We'll need to come up with some other songs too if we want to fill the show's timeframe. We might have to do some covers, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"Okay," I replied and took another bite.

"Your album was quite a hit yesterday," he said next. From the excitement on his face I knew that this was what he had been waiting to tell me. "Megan, you sold 428,000 albums yesterday! That's phenomenal for a first album!"

I stopped chewing. 428,000 copies? That was a staggering number! I hadn't had any real idea how many would sell, but that number was way higher than I thought it would be!

I just stared at Dad before I responded. "Are you serious?" I asked after forcing myself to swallow.

"Yes," he replied. That same smile I had seen when I sat down was still plastered on his face. "I told you that you had potential! This just proves it. I'm so proud of you!"

I didn't know what to say! I was completely in shock, and I couldn’t think of anything else to do except continue to eat. 428,000!

By the time I was done eating, Mom and Dad had showered me with compliments and encouragements. I was still in a daze as I returned to Sarah's room and spent the afternoon going over the songs that Josh and I would be practicing later in the evening.

I still hadn't fully recovered from that news when I stepped back out of Sarah's room after putting on a nice, but not too formal, dress for dinner.

Since I was dressed and ready, I was surprised to find my parents in the front room watching TV together. Neither of them was dressed or ready for dinner.

"Aren't you guys getting ready?" I asked with concern. I didn't want to be late. Despite what I had talked to Mom about earlier, I hoped that I still had a chance with Josh, in one identity or the other.

Mom turned around and smiled slightly at me. That smile told me everything, and my shoulders slumped at the knowledge that I would be braving my feelings for Josh alone this evening. My parents weren't coming.

"Why not?" I asked before she replied. Josh had invited both me and my family! They had every right to be there!

"Honey, Josh invited your family. We aren't Sarah's family." Her response made my stomach fall. I knew there was a separation between my parents and Sarah. That was for my own protection. If they were linked to Sarah as her parents, then it was only a simple task for someone to realize that Sarah and Megan were the same person.

I glared at her, and without another word to them I walked out to my car and started driving toward Josh's house.

This day had started out with one of the most wonderful feelings in the world. Now I had sunk into the pit of despair. I never thought that I would feel betrayed and deserted by my own parents!

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"How can I help you?" came the refined voice from the callbox at the gate entering into Josh's relatives’ house. When he said they lived in Beverly Hills, I expected a mansion, but I still wasn't prepared for what I found.

"Sarah Carerra," I replied. "I'm here for dinner."

"You are expected," the voice returned. This statement sounded nasally. The gate started to open and I rolled up my window before driving forward.

"You are expected," I mocked sarcastically while driving up the short lane to the roundabout in front of the home. I was beginning to think this was a bad idea again. I hadn't wanted to attend a formal dinner, but if Josh's aunt and uncle employed a butler, they probably had a whole staff on hand to make this a high society dinner.

The house itself was something I had only ever seen in movies before. I knew that my family lived in a nice house that would get us a pretty penny if we ever sold it, but this place put to shame the home I'd known my entire life. I was really intimidated as I stepped out of my car and approached the front door. I really wished I had Mom and Dad, or even Emily or Ethan with me to help keep me from turning and running away.

The door opened before I reached it, and Josh was standing there with a smile on his face that melted the idea to run straight out of my mind. If he was here, I would be okay. He was dressed much the same way I was: nice, but not formal. He had on a pair of slacks and a button up shirt, though the lack of a tie told me that I didn't have to worry about fitting into high society this evening.

"Hi, Sarah," he said with that voice that started to make my legs all wobbly again. How was I supposed to get over him when he had that kind of an effect on me?

"Hi, Josh," I replied. It sounded slightly too love-struck to my ears, though. Thankfully, he didn't seem to catch the tone in my voice. But the person standing next to him did. I watched her lips tighten at the knowledge that I still had feelings for her brother, even if he wasn't returning them. "Hi, Amanda," I said to her. Amanda Holliday and I had gotten to know each other pretty well on the flight to Salt Lake City for the concert, and I was happy to see her again.

"Hi, Sarah!" she replied excitedly and stepped forward to give me a hug. That was unexpected, but it turned out not to be awkward at all. When she let go, I saw that Josh's lips had tightened much like hers had. I had the sudden impression that he was jealous of his sister. Well, it was his own fault that he wasn't getting his own hug!

"Where's your family?" Josh asked me next.

"They couldn't make it," I replied. It was my turn to tighten my lips as I thought of how I had felt abandoned by my parents. I knew that it was for my own good, but that didn’t stop me from wishing that they were here.

Josh frowned, but stepped back to let me inside. "Come on inside. Dinner is almost ready, and we have a lot to do tonight if we are going to be ready for tomorrow."

I nodded and stepped into the house after him. The inside of the house was just as immaculate as the outside, and I felt out of place immediately. The opulence that was displayed was off-putting, and I wondered how long I would have to endure it to get out of here.

Just inside the door were two other people waiting for us. I first turned my attention to Josh's mom, Annie. She gave me a welcoming hug. I had also gotten to know her fairly well during the concert, and it was nice to have a few friendly faces here.

The second person was a boy. He looked to be about Amanda's age, and I guessed he must be their cousin. He had that same look on his face that most of the teenage boys had when they met me.

"Sarah, this is Steven," Josh said when it was apparent that Steven wasn't going to talk for himself. "He's my cousin. Believe it or not, he is an only child."

An only child...in this huge house? Talk about overkill. I could see wanting to have a nice place, but this mansion must have had like 80 rooms. Too much for a family of three, if you asked me.

He smiled at me. "You are expected," he deadpanned in the same tone as the butler had on the voice box outside. I started laughing out loud when I realized that it was the same voice.

"Okay, you got me," I said when I finally was able to talk again. I was still chuckling, and I noticed that the slightly scared expression he'd had at meeting me was now gone. He had broken the ice. "It's nice to meet you, Steven."

"The pleasure is mine," he replied. He looked innocent enough when he said it, but it was dripping with the feelings I knew he was having about me. I wasn't too keen on continuing that type of discussion.

We were then led into the dining room where I met Josh's aunt and uncle. Uncle Ned and Aunt Karen weren't much for words, and they almost seemed somewhat put out that I was in their home. We sat down quickly and dinner was served. It seemed they felt that the sooner they were finished and didn't have to interact with me, the better.

Dinner was nice. The food was excellent, but the companionship was only so so. Josh and his family, and even Steven, were very kind, but discussion was stifled primarily by Steven's parents. I was not sure why they agreed to let me visit if this was how they felt. I sincerely hoped for Steven's sake that they weren't like this all of the time.

After dinner was over, the two of them quickly retired to a different part of the house, and the rest of us found ourselves in a study that had a pretty nice sound system.

"This is where I work on my music when I'm in town," Josh told me while I sat down on a plush couch. "I thought it would be a good place to practice the songs for tomorrow."

I looked around. Sarah's room had become the place where I most often worked on my own songs. It was very feminine and soothing to me. This place was the opposite. It wasn't blatantly masculine. But it was definitely a room that would be better suited for a guy than a girl. Overall, it was a nice, cozy place to work on music. He could have done a lot worse.

"It's nice," I replied, garnering a smile from him. Josh walked over to the music system and pressed a button. 'Lucky' started playing immediately, and without any preamble Josh started singing the first verse. I smiled, and when it came my turn, I joined him.

My feelings were conflicted as I sang the song with him for the first time. It was a love song, and as I watched his eyes as we sang, I clearly saw that he was attracted to me. If he had those types of feelings for me, why didn't he act on them? He knew that I was interested. All he had to do was to return them.

The second song was better. It was a light-hearted comedy piece that was easier for us to set aside our emotions. We had a lot of fun with it.

The third song, however, was the worst of all. It was a slow, meaningful song. I had to struggle to hold in tears while I sang it with Josh, because I learned the truth while watching his eyes while we sang it. He had feelings for me, but he didn't love me. I could see that clearly now. I doubted that he even loved Megan. What he was returning to me wasn't the same thing that I had been feeling for him. I had hoped that there was still a chance for us to be together, but it was painfully evident to me now that it wasn't going to be in my immediate future.

As we continued to sing and practice throughout the night, Josh knew what I had learned. His concern for me grew as we continued to practice. Fortunately, his family eventually left us alone, and by the time we were finished, I felt exhausted and emotionally spent.

"Sarah," Josh said as I collapsed back down onto the couch. "I'm sorry."

I looked up at him, and as much as it hurt, I smiled. Josh was a good guy. Someday he would make some girl very lucky. But that day wasn't today, and when it happened, I was unlikely to be the girl. It hurt, but there was also relief in my smile. I was happy for him. I knew that we would continue to be friends, and perhaps there would be a chance for more in the future, but I finally was okay with what was happening now.

"It's okay, Josh," I told him. "You don't need to apologize. This isn't your fault."

"Sarah," he said. I knew he didn't agree with my words, but I held up my hand to let him know that he didn't need to say anything more. "Look," he said instead. "You are amazing. I envy the guy who gets to be with you. But that can't be me. Not right now."

"I know," I told him. "But I hope we can still be friends. Is that okay?"

"Of course," he said while finally returning my smile.

This had been one roller coaster of an emotional day. From the wonderful feeling I'd had this morning to the sadness I had felt at leaving my parents at home. But now, it had turned into a good day again. I hadn't lost Josh. I had gained another good friend. Perhaps someday that would mean more, but if it didn't, I was glad for what I had.

I was a lucky girl.

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